Ruben E. Canedo, director of strategic equity initiatives at the University of California, Berkeley, is working to ensure that students have access to essential resources such as food and housing. His efforts focus on addressing basic needs insecurity among college students in California and across the country.
Recent data from the California Student Aid Commission indicates that a significant number of postsecondary students in California experience food and housing insecurity. According to these figures, 66% of students are food insecure, while 53% lack secure housing.
Canedo has played a central role in developing several support programs at UC Berkeley. As an undergraduate, he helped conceptualize the Undocumented Student Program, which opened in 2012. In 2014, he launched Berkeley’s food pantry and later led the creation of the Basic Needs Center. The center served more than 7,000 unique students and recorded nearly 27,000 contacts during the 2023-24 academic year.
“Ruben’s vision of a just world, where students have everything they need to grasp education and life opportunities, inspires me,” said Fabrizio Mejia, interim vice chancellor for the Division of Equity and Inclusion at UC Berkeley. “He’s been at the ground floor of helping launch many of the programs Berkeley is known for nationally.”
Canedo also co-led efforts to establish the University of California system’s Basic Needs Initiative. Today, each UC campus has a basic needs center supported by recurring state funding. These centers provide services such as food pantries, emergency housing assistance, and application support for CalFresh — California’s version of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
Colleagues who have worked with Canedo describe his ability to connect with others and drive change through collaboration. Kyle Southern from the Partnership for College Completion called him “a hustler,” while Colleen Ganley from the California Community Colleges chancellor’s office described him as “a centrifugal force of nature” who brings together partners to create lasting impact.
In 2016, Canedo organized the California Higher Education Basic Needs Alliance (CHEBNA), which unites leaders from UC, CSU (California State University), and CCC (California Community Colleges) systems to address student needs collectively. This collaboration contributed to legislative changes that codified basic needs as legal rights in state higher education policy and secured $19.5 million in ongoing funding for student support services.
Research conducted by Canedo and his collaborators has informed both national and state policies on college student basic needs.
Reflecting on progress since he began this work over a decade ago, Canedo said: “Back in 2012, nobody was talking about basic needs… Now… we have changed the entire landscape across the country.”
Despite his achievements, those close to Canedo note his humility and collaborative approach. Kiyoko Thomas, director of Berkeley’s Basic Needs Center said: “That’s his personality… But somebody has to lead the effort… He does deserve a lot of credit.”
Canedo’s background includes experiences with disability justice due to childhood asthma as well as supporting his family financially during college while navigating challenges related to immigration processes affecting his mother.
He earned degrees in ethnic studies and social welfare from UC Berkeley before joining organizations focused on educational equity. In recent years he co-founded the Center for Economic Justice and Action at UC Berkeley where he trains leaders statewide on advancing access to essential resources like food and housing.
The University of California’s 2025 Basic Needs Annual Report shows that undergraduate food insecurity increased from 43% in 2022 to 48% in 2024 after pandemic-era aid ended; graduate student rates rose from 21% to 35%. The report also notes rising costs: rent increased more than 35% since 2020 while wages grew only by about two-thirds that rate; utilities went up by almost half; gas prices rose over a quarter; household food expenses climbed more than a quarter.
The report calls for cooperation among higher education institutions and government agencies toward supporting student needs amid reductions in federal public benefits programs like SNAP/CalFresh.
In response to proposed cuts affecting student nutrition programs such as CalFood — which supports food banks serving colleges — Canedo helped coordinate advocacy resulting in restoration of funding within California’s budget for fiscal year 2025-26.
“We brought everybody together and created a one-pager to help state leaders understand why the CalFood budget isn’t just a food budget but a college completion budget,” said Canedo. “You can’t operate 116 CCC, 23 CSU and 10 UC food pantries — with over 145,000 being served —without that. This was a massive victory.”
Canedo emphasized that continued progress is needed so students can complete their degrees: “We can’t start losing them.”
